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Colvin focused on quality at-bats, not numbers

Colvin focused on quality at-bats, not numbers

08whenever tyler colvin

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MILWAUKEE -- Don't look at Tyler Colvin's stats. He's not.

"I'm not paying attention to the numbers anymore," the Cubs outfielder said Saturday. "You want to get off to a good start and everything, but it's about having good at-bats and making sure I hit the pitches I'm supposed to and lay off the bad ones. I'm not looking at the numbers anymore right now."

If he did peek, Colvin, who went 2-for-4 in a 6-4 loss on Saturday, would see that he finished the day hitting .149 overall with five homers and 16 RBIs. Although he didn't hit for average last season, batting .254 in 135 games, he did have 20 homers and 56 RBIs. His worst month was August 2010 when he hit .215.

This year, the Cubs' first-round pick in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft has not yet hit .200 in any complete month, although he's hitting .212 in 24 games during August.

"It's still a work in progress," Cubs manager Mike Quade said. "His numbers haven't been great, but overall, I think his at-bats have been better.

"He still gets after balls, and he needs to learn to take [pitches], and his discipline still has a long way to go, but he's squared up more balls than he did before he left. If you're hitting the ball out of the ballpark, you must be doing that."

Colvin finished the day with hits in eight of his last 14 games since Aug. 13, including a walk-off pinch-hit single in the 10th on Aug. 19, which gave the Cubs a 5-4 win over the Cardinals. What he needs to learn is to not be afraid if he falls behind in the count and to be more selective.

"It's just one of those things where I've got to stay within my game, be a little more patient, get the pitches I need to hit and hit those," Colvin said.